The Reluctant Propagandists
by Shadsie
Summary: Sir Fredrick did not understand much about advertising, nor how overbearing his master found him to be at times. He walks into a print shop in Ylisstol to enlist the aid of an artisan and his assistant to create some rather interesting propaganda. "You want me to draw and print WHAT?" The tale of an infamous poster and the graphic designers hired to make it.


_**Disclaimer and Notes:**_ _Fire Emblem: Awakening and related characters belong to Nintendo, Intelligent Systems and other various holders._

 _I've worked in graphic design before, so when I saw the whole conversation between Fredrick and Chrom on the game, along with gigglesnarking like everyone else, I thought of that poor, poor unnamed random artisan that Fredrick hired. The client is not always right._

* * *

 **THE RELUCTANT PROPAGANDISTS**

The bell on the shop door chimed as a man in clanking armor entered Franklin's Signcraft and Print. Franklin looked up from a list of work-orders with his leather-wrapped magnifying-lens still stuck in his left eye.

"Oh, welcome, Sir!" he said, unused to having knights in full regalia stop by. One of the presses in the much larger back part of the shop was in full-operation and making interesting noises. The knight's nose twitched. Even with all of the heavy equipment behind a wall, the entire shop was thick with the smell of ink.

"I've come to place an order of utmost importance to the nation of Ylisse," the knight said, placing his gloved palm upon the counter.

"Important to the nation you say?" Franklin said, scratching his beard and keeping his attention on his prior list.

"Am I to trust a sign-crafter with a vision-impairment?"

"Oh, oh, sorry…" Frankly took his lens off. "You do actually get a bit myopic in this business. This is actually an improvement when working close-up. Can you see the vein-pattern in a green-wing fly with your own eyes? You can with this." He set the lens on the counter gently. "So what can I do for you Sir…?"

"Sir Fredrick of the Shepherds of Ylisse, second in command to Prince Chrom."

"Sir Fredrick! I'm sorry I did not recognize your face, milord, but your name is quite famous!"

"Quite…" Fredrick mumbled.

"Well, I am honored to have you here in my humble little sign shop." Franklin called to the back. "Shadrach, finish what you're doing and put on some tea!"

A door opened and out came a short young man with messy pale hair and a bandage across his nose unable to see above the stack of blank papers he was carrying. He thumped it down unceremoniously.

"The caramel apple merchant wanted Goldenrod for the Candy-Festival posters, but all we have in stock is Mustard!" he complained.

"They won't notice."

"Are you sure? I do."

"You've better eyes than most, Shad. Anyway, won't you pay attention and greet Sir Fredrick?"

"Sir!" they boy said, immediately stiffening in a salute. "You're of the Shepherds, right? You saved my home village from Plegian bandits!"

Fredrick gave the boy a little grunt, the closest thing to a smile he tended to give strangers.

Franklin clapped the young man on the shoulder. "Remember, I asked for you to make us some tea for our important guest?"

"Right away, Boss!"

"That is not necessary," Fredrick said.

"What can we do you for?" Shadrach said, rocking on his heels.

"My assistant," Franklin explained. "He's a bit over-eager, but he's an excellent artist. Not quite up to my standards yet, but…"

"Oh, Boss, you know I'm really more of an advertising-strategist than a mere assistant and that this place would be in the hole without me!"

The kid swiftly dodged before Franklin could give him a swift bop upside the head.

"Well," Fredrick muttered, "I did find your shop via an excellently-done poster. It was bold and striking, just the kind of thing that I need. You see, the Shepherds have been taking on quite a lot of battles that have been hard on us. We have not lost anyone, but the injuries and the stress are weighing upon the units. We need a morale-boost and possibly something for recruitment."

"Ah…. Now, what kind of thing are you looking for? Shadrach! Bring out a few typesets and printed font-samples for the man!"

"Right-o."

"I wanted something bold," Fredrick said, "bold and glorious. I would like it to depict our Prince Chrom in all of his strength, ready for battle. I've given thought to poses and dress. Nothing really quite captures his sheer power… I'd like something with a good, strong, imposing stare, something that shows off his broad shoulders by which he carries the burdens of our land."

"Hmm. We common people do not get to see our royals every day. I could work from prior portraits of him, or, if you prefer – if he would not mind sitting for me."

"Oh, no, no, no!" the knight insisted. "I wish this to be a surprise. I do not want to lay any more burdens upon his noble head."

"Isn't that him outside?" Shadrach said, pointing to one of the large shop windows.

Fredrick nodded.

"Why is he talking to a ghost?" Franklin asked with a scratch of his hairy chin.

"A ghost, sir?" Fredrick asked, puzzled.

"That hooded figure… I suppose it makes sense to wear such a heavy coat in the drizzle outside, but you'll forgive me if I think his companion looks a might sinister."

Fredrick stifled a small laugh. "Oh, you mean Robin. That's just our new tactician."

"Should I bring them in?" Shadrach asked.

"No, please do not," Fredrick insisted, "Although, if you observe him for but a moment, do you think you might be able to capture my lord's nobility in a drawing?"

Franklin was already scrawling experimental sketches on a piece of paper.

"You are quite quick," Fredrick observed, "but that does not quite capture the glory that is Chrom. I was thinking more along the lines of a sword in one hand – the sacred Falchion, which I'm sure you know of – and a set of scales in the other…"

"That shouldn't be a problem."

"And naked."

"….. "

Franklin and his assistant looked up as one at Fredrick.

"You want us to create a poster of Prince Chrom in the nude?"

"Why, yes," Fredrick said in all seriousness. "What better way to show him in all of his honest strength? I have given much thought to other designs. Perhaps you can come up with proper dress for him, but I really do think he would show his strength much better if he were like a statue. You know the glorious titans that bear jars of water or platforms in the public gardens? I would like to show our prince as being just such a titan. It would do well for the public to see him as godlike."

"How am I to draw Lord Chrom naked?" Franklin quailed. "I don't exactly have a habit of seeking out naked men, especially my leaders!"

"I could follow him around the city and slip into his bathing area!" Shadrach said with a gleefully wicked glint in his eye. He grabbed up a portable wooden tablet and paper.

"You could use your imagination," Fredrick insisted. " After all, I am looking for… statuesque. Just gaze upon him while our tactician keeps him occupied with conversation. It should not take much thought to see those lean, bulging muscles, enough to embellish on, if necessary."

Shadrach was wincing. "Eh… sir? I may not be useful to your battles like your war-tactician out there is, but I do pride myself upon being a budding tactician of advertising and marketing, and I can tell you straightaway that seeing a member of the royal family unclothed isn't the best recruitment strategy."

Franklin shook his head. "I would much rather keep him clothed in any morale-boosting depiction. It is the wiser move."

"Now you listen!" Fredrick said with a scowl, slamming his palm upon the front desk, "I want Prince Chrom, great and glorious with his sword and the scales of justice and 'Chrom Wants You!' lettered below his feet! I need at least two-hundred posters."

"How about you let us work out a few designs first," Franklin said. "Give us three days."

"We are staying in the city for the week. You shall have your three days. If I like the design, you will be paid handsomely, Shopkeep."

* * *

"Are we really working up nude-designs?" Shadrach complained as he and Franklin sat after-hours reviewing a series of sketches and designs they'd come up with in the light of strong oil-lamps. "You can't be serious, Boss."

"We have to give the client what he wants," Franklin sighed.

"These ones with the prince in dress and armor are very nice… we really ought to convince the knight to go with these."

"It's what I'm trying to do, kiddo."

"I mean… if the nude ones get out… if Prince Chrom doesn't like them…" – the young man gulped, "He might… consider us guilty of TREASON! We might lose our heads!"

"I don't peg Prince Chrom to be quite that way, especially with Exalt Emmeryn running things. It will be quite a lot of embarrassment for the poor prince if he doesn't think my drawing is sufficiently godlike…"

"You know how these things go, Boss. If one of the royal circle or a high-ranking knight screws up, it's always us little guys who get the lance! Even if we don't lose our heads, we could lose the shop!"

"Now, don't think that way, Shad. We've both got several designs. I only worked up a couple of the… 'glorious titan'….kind. The rest features our prince fully-clothed and in heroic poses that befit him. Methinks that Sir Fredrick will come to his senses and choose one of the fully-dressed designs."

Shad made a face. "I also hope we can gently encourage him to make better font choices. Papyrus…ugh! People think that typeset is so unique and ancient and natural or something, but it's so depressingly common!"

"At least he didn't choose Comic Sans, or Jokerman or Bank Gothic."

"Well, I really like this one," Shadrach said, "Chrom with one boot on a dark-dragon holding Falchion aloft. I can't believe we got all these sketched in just an afternoon."

"If all goes well, we won't be struggling anymore," Franklin said. After that, he slumped in his chair and hung his head. "I cannot believe I had to imagine all of the bumps and ridges of a naked Prince Chrom."

"I think we should go home, Boss."

"I think I'm going to have some interesting nightmares."

* * *

Franklin showed Sir Fredrick his sketched designs. The knight, dissatisfied with the available typefaces in the shop, including choices he'd previously made, scrawled the coveted "Chrom Wants You!" himself upon the work-up he liked best.

Much to Franklin's wincing, Fredrick would not be dissuaded. The man not only chose one of the designs featuring Prince Chrom in the buff, but the client managed to choose the one of the two worst workups that was the worst between the two. It wasn't that previous clients hadn't chosen designs for their projects that both Franklin and his assistant had found unsound design-wise before, but when they involved nude people who had no business being nude in public….

The "better" of the two designs, in Franklin's opinion, was one in which Falchion was held to hide certain assets. Fredrick, of course, had chosen the image of Chrom holding the sword aloft with everything showing. Fredrick thought the pose "showed strength" and made his prince resemble certain statues around the palace grounds and in museums of ancient antiquities. Franklin had, however, deviated in the design in that he'd done some aspects with proper proportions rather than what was usually seen on statues.

He was trying his best not to embarrass the poor prince.

So, Fredrick and Shadrach mixed colored inks and etched plates and ran the presses. Fredrick paid them handsomely and they didn't hear from the Shepherds for a long time.

….

That is, until one day when a sinister hooded figure rang the bell on the door of their shop. The "ghost" drifted in quietly, holding a bundle of torn and wadded up posters loosely bound with twine.

"Oh, Gods…" Franklin whispered under his breath. "We are so sorry! I insisted to your knight not to go with that design, but he would not take no for an answer! We are merely humble artisans!"

"Please don't take our heads!" Shadrach exclaimed.

The hooded figure shook its head and laughed in a way whereby Franklin could not tell whether they were a male or a female. "You are safe," it said. "Fredrick's strategy for recruitment was poor, but in boosting our morale it was spot on – at least for those of us who saw the posters before Chrom ripped them down from the camp tents. We got a good laugh, which was something we'd sorely needed."

"Well, were you here for some kind of a refund?" Franklin asked.

"No," the tactician said with a gentle shake of their hooded head. "On the contrary. Lord Chrom would like more work done."

"Son of a griffon!" Franklin exclaimed. "You've gotta be yankin' my chain!"

"Don't tell me he wants bedroom posters!" Shadrach yelped.

The person in the cloak set the bundle of mangled posters down and retrieved an undamaged one. They traced their hands over the rumpled paper and smoothed it out. "Lord Chrom was as embarrassed as you'd expect, but the general artistry is quite striking. It's been decided among the Shepherds that we could use some more propaganda. They'd like it to be centered upon me this time – with one slogan or another I'm sure you can come up with one about 'military intelligence' or about 'joining the smart-army."

Shadrach gasped as the tactician pulled down their hood. A woman with snow-pale hair and a soft-skinned face looked back at them.

The boy immediately got a nosebleed. "Um… Lady? These aren't going to be naked-posters, are they?"

Robin blushed. Shadrach flinched, expecting her to throw something for some reason. She just had that kind of a look in her hard brown eyes.

"No," she answered. "I've come for a sitting, fully-clothed. In fact, my coat has become iconic.

"I think we can do something," Franklin said.

Robin smiled beatifically. "You are very skilled, sir. You did this all by imagination and yet…" she traced the image of Chrom on the flattened poster on the counter lovingly, "it is actually fairly accurate."

Franklin and his young assistant stood by and stared.

* * *

 **END.**

 _The character Franklin isn't based upon anyone in particular, although his name was inspired by Benjamin Franklin. Shadrach is patterned after the male avatar I am using in a second playthrough of Fire Emblem: Awakening – young/short build, messy white hair, bandaged/scarred boyish face – "my own" as a character / intended to be more of a male version of me than the generic-set of male Robin. I needed a plucky print-shop assistant, so I stuck him in. I'd probably be doing something like this if I lived in Ylisse rather than being a war-tactician, anyway._

 _Working up different layouts for ads if I didn't think the customer was particularly right and hoping they'd chose one of the cleaner, more eye-catching ones was one of my strategies when I worked doing graphic design for newspapers a dog's age ago. Sometimes, it worked, sometimes it didn't. I never had to do posters of naked people, though, and now I'm kind of disappointed._


End file.
